1. Field
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a vehicle air intake system that includes a resonator and associated intake/exhaust tubes and, more particularly, to an attachment structure and method for attaching and securing an intake or other tube extending from the resonator to the resonator itself.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Some motor vehicles include a resonator structure located in the air induction system to eliminate undesirable noise and/or vibration associated with air passing through the induction system at various speeds. The resonator is usually located in the ductwork/tubing between the air cleaner and the throttle body/engine intake manifold.
The resonator can take many different forms, including being formed as an expansion chamber(s) and/or a Helmholtz resonator(s). A Helmholtz resonator utilizes a chamber with an open hole adjacent the air induction ductwork/tubing. The volume of air in and near the open hole vibrates because of the ‘springiness’ of the air inside the chamber. The vibration in the chamber occurs during air induction and when air passes through the ductwork/tubing on its way into the engine of the vehicle. This “springiness” of the air inside the chamber can be calculated and the chamber can be tuned such that the resulting resonance of chamber air acts to dampen out known vibration resonance points in the induction system. In addition, a muffler type structure, such as foam, fabrics, tube(s), or other damper structure/material can be located in the resonator chamber to muffle or absorb certain vibration resonances from the induction system.
In another type of resonator, the air induction system includes an air duct, a tuning tube supported by the air duct, and a resonance chamber that engages the air duct at an attachment interface. During assembly, the tuning tube is inserted through an opening in the resonance chamber such that a distal end of the tuning tube is positioned inside the resonance chamber. A weld area is formed at the attachment interface to securely attach the air duct to the resonance chamber.
In any of the above described (and other) resonator structures, the intake, exhaust and other tubing connected to the resonator is typically restrained from moving relative to the resonator for various reasons, including ensuring that the system is properly tuned, preventing structural damage due to vibration of the tubing or connected structures, preventing noise from vibration of tubing, etc. There is a long felt need to provide an attachment structure and method for connecting air intake system tubing with a resonator body in an efficient, light weight, low cost manner and with predictable and reproducible results.